In what could be a state record for the per-acre value of farmland, an 80-acre parcel in North Dakota’s Walsh County sold for $800,000, or a whopping $10,000 per acre, at public auction Thursday in Grand Forks, N.D. Continue Reading

So while people worried over whether the government would be able to fine a farmer for drowning kittens if Measure 5 passed, the farmers got a guarantee that no one could stop them from doing whatever they want on their land. I suppose it would increase the value of land if one could dump whatever the hell one wants to on there and not have to answer to the neighbors for it.

Speaking of dumping, since the topic was brought up, a couple of years ago a city dweller dumped a pickup load of trash on our original homestead. We went through the trash and found his name on several pieces of paper. Not to bright on his part. The sheriff took over from there.

It doesn’t even pencil out. A-lot of red ink there. NO land is worth that in this region! It’s ones like that make things worse for others, does kind of make one wish crop prices crash so the conservatives can go to the irresponsible spenders auction sales. Happened before, it’ll happen again.

I do not have land in ND but I assume that the land is evaluated and taxed in an area by recent land sales. So this guy not only raised his taxes but his neighbors most likely are going to benefit from this purchase .(sarcasm)

WOW!! My guess is two Bobby Bigwheels got in a u know what swinging contest and this is what happened. A great job by the auctioneers though, get the right bidders in the mix and this is what can happen.

Kerry is exactly right, when you are guaranteed a profit per acre then any land you purchase is going to be to your benefit despite the cost. Remember the GF area farmer who just won his lawsuit against the USDA for his 11000 acres in Colorado. His insurance payment was $ 8 million. pretty fine return on his investment. Of course these high land prices will preclude any new farmers from getting a start.

The real value of land in this region should only be in the 1800 to 3200 range. Let’s see some farm when corn drops back to 3.00 bu. and soys at 6.00 bu. It’s never more than a year away, those prices were just months away this summer before the drought hit the central states.

The farm bill does not need to be abandoned. It needs to be reformed. there is abuse of the system that is happening which could be eliminated if stricter rules existed on what qualifies as an actual claim. A land use history should be examined and the acres should be farmed for x years before it is eligible for insurance claims. That would actually eliminate a lot of the abuse of the system.

I do not know where exactly that 80 was located but I do know there is some prime farm land in the eastern walsh area combined with some large farming operations. The perfect storm was brewing for awhile.

Though I think the price is outrageous, after taking a look at the plat book I have a better understanding of why the price went so high. There’s a fairly good bet the new owner was already renting the land because he owns the adjoining 80 acres. By purchasing the 80, he now owns the quarter. Sometimes, in a situation such as this the investment is a no brainer. I don’t know a farmer who wouldn’t want to do exactly the same if he has the finances to back it up. Land is limited. We can’t make more of it.

Yes elderton, I understand your theory. Setting a one size fits all maximum payout just punishes large farms when they actually have a legitimate claim and it also punishes high priced commodities. I would like to see a maximum percentage and payout based per acre, per your average yield compared to your neighbors average yield, and current commodity prices. It would be a complicated formula but insurance companies a great at math.

Good farmland is a limited resource. Once a family owns it, it’s likely going to be at least a generation or two before it comes up for sale again. Also keep in mind, if the buyer bought (or inherited) all the other land they farm at $1000-$1500/acre, buying 80 acres at $10,000 may not affect their average “cost/acre”. If all their other acres are paid for, it’s pretty easy to cash flow this deal at today’s commodity prices.

If they can pay that much, we do not need to have a farm bill that gives them price gaurantees. Current farm policy is like welfare, but you do not see people on welfare go out and buy million dollar homes.